HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY
We here at All Things Possible, Inc. are so very grateful to all those who serve or have served our Country. We love to honor and remember them on this day dedicated to them.
Last week, Hanah, our daughter-in-law who served in the Navy, shared this story with us about her dear friend who served with her and who made the ultimate sacrifice. It truly touched our hearts, and we know it will touch your heart too.
Dustin’s Impact – Leaving his mark on the world.
Dustin and I were in boot camp at the same time. We were in different divisions but were both assigned to “ships staff”, which was members assigned from each division to meet every evening to clean and care for the building and other assignments. Towards the end of boot camp, I was the leader of the group and Dustin was assigned 2 nd in Command of this group. One of the important duties assigned to us was the raising and lowering of the flag, which you can imagine was a VERY big deal.
On Memorial Day that year, I was in the main entrance making sure it was pristine. A group of new recruits were tasked with lowering the flag. As they were lowering it, they made the mistake of dropping the flag. On Memorial Day of all days! The Senior Chief Petty Officer saw this happen and lost it! He immediately called me over and “Dropped Me”, which means I am required to drop to the ground and start doing exercises as directed. I was the leader in charge after all, and this was therefore my fault.
The Senior Chief was screaming at me and I was doing my best to
keep up with the various things he was yelling out at me. At this
point, a small crowd was gathering. When we got to push-ups, my
arms simply gave out. I had tears streaming down my face and he
was still screaming and making me start back at ONE every time I
fell.
Dustin came and saw what was happening. He immediately dropped to the floor and started doing them with me and counting with me. My voice was shaking as I was crying, I could barely count on my own. The senior chief instantly started yelling at Dustin and told him to get up and leave, that this was my punishment. Dustin just kept counting louder and louder.
Then because of Dustin’s Impact, all the other sailors that were part of the ship staff and had been just watching copied Dustin and joined us. They all went down and started counting and doing the push-ups with us. By the time we got to 100, the whole area was silent. At this point, several other chiefs and officers had stopped to see what was happening.
The Senior Chief Petty Officer called Dustin and me into his office. He told us that he had never, in all his years at RDC, seen anything like this happen. He then talked about what a reflection of Stallworth character it was for Dustin to be willing to step in when he saw a fellow shipmate struggling. He also spoke of his leadership and how all the other sailors watching followed his lead. He was excited to see the impact that Dustin was having on the Navy.
I have shared this story with family and friends about how much it meant to me that he stepped in and saved me that Memorial Day. Each Memorial Day I take my kids to a local cemetery, and we talk about Mommy’s friend Dustin. He was one of the most honest and genuinely good people I met while in the Navy. I feel honored to have known him.
Later, I went to “A school” in Great Lakes for a few months. Many evenings I would run laps around the track. Dustin would be out there often running as well. He was significantly faster than I, but every few laps or so he would do a slow lap running next to me. I was impressed by his belief in God. My faith was struggling at the time, but Dustin often brought God into our conversations, which
helped me. We lost touch after boot camp when I went on deployment. However, we reconnected and had plans to run when his ship returned to Virginia and had spoken about a few different trails we would love to go on together.
Tragically, ET2 Dustin Doyon GAVE ALL, losing his life while serving our country. He died while serving on board the USS John McCain in 2017. To Dustin’s family, please know that Dustin had a huge impact on my life and the lives of those who served with him. His influence and example continue to have a huge impact on people’s lives. He truly left his mark on this world. Miss you Dusty!
May we all strive to live in a way that our actions reflect our values and our character so that we can impact the lives of others like Dustin did.